I can’t even remember the last time I updated! What a challenging year it has been.
First and foremost, our family sadly said goodbye to my mother, Helen Gauci, on 7th August, 2013.
There are no words to express how difficult it has been to watch Mum’s health deteriorate in front of one’s eyes. The sorrow is deep. And yet, I feel so proud of what we as a family did in Mum’s last 12 months (since Dad passed away a year earlier on 8.7.12) to support and care for Mum in her hour of need. Lauren, the child with autism, gave up just about everything in this time as she and I moved in with Mum about 4 days a week for a good part of the year. Lauren will miss Mum immensely but has many special memories to comfort her from our year with Mum. Matthew sacrificed his mum and sister in this period of our lives. In time I hope he gains an understanding of the gift he gave his Nunna in her final year by ‘doing without Lauren and I” and feels a sense of pride for the sacrifices he made. This also applies for Jeff….although at times I sensed he quite liked us gone! LOL.
This significant life event aside, it has been a huge year for Lauren. A summary approach might serve this long overdue update best.
VCE STUDIES
I am pleased, relieved, proud, stunned and tired to announce that Lauren completed her final SAC for the year on Friday. This should mean that she has successfully achieved ‘Satisfactory’ in all assessment tasks for General Maths, Studio Arts, Music and English for units 1 and 2 (unscored). What an achievement!
Lauren….you never cease to amaze us all! It has been soooooooo hard doing VCE but somehow it has been conquered! You are a superstar (particularly in such a difficult year caring for Nunna)
With this being the case we have decided to do the impossible and undertake Year 12 in 2014! She will do Studio Arts, Further Maths and Music Performance. This will leave her with just 2 units of English (which we will probably do via distance ed in 2015 – although we may also exploit a little known feature of the VCE and get around the difficulty of English as Lauren can be enrolled as an adult part time student and get her VCE unscored that way).
Check out some of her fabulous artwork!
Lauren’s art teacher, Ms T. is absolutely beautiful….and has all the qualities Mum’s of special kids long for in a teacher. She is positive, warm, encouraging, ‘big picture’, a great communicator of everything I need to know….I feel blessed to be privy to such partnership. Lauren has turned into a doodle-maniac and I must say it is truly a gift to have, for the first real time in 18 years, an insight into what Lauren is thinking and feeling through what she is drawing!
Heartfelt thanks also goes to Lauren’s other teachers and of course her new aide for 2013 Mrs M. It has been a year when partnership (always important) has been the key to success.